57 Held in Hells Angels Probe

A two-year investigation led Wednesday to the arrests of 57 Hells Angels members and associates in five Western states on suspicion of firearms violations, narcotics trafficking, possession of stolen explosives and organized criminal activity.

Predawn raids by more than 700 federal, state and municipal law enforcement officers in the San Fernando Valley, Ventura County, San Francisco and the states of Washington, Arizona, Nevada and Alaska turned up more than 125 firearms, more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition, several stolen vehicles and a quarter-pound of methamphetamine, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said.

Nine men were arrested in the San Fernando Valley, including the president and three officers of the chapter there, the ATF said.

Donald R. Kincaid, special agent in charge of the ATF’s Los Angeles office, said the Hells Angels, who number about 2,500 worldwide, “seem to have a propensity for trafficking in narcotics and firearms, extortion and things like that.

“They sometimes refer to themselves as some kind of philanthropic organization, but I don’t think that’s the case,” Kincaid said.

The club is believed to be involved in a variety of criminal activities, including the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamines and motorcycle theft, he said.

However, George Christie, 56, of Ventura, a national spokesman for the Hells Angels, said Wednesday that the group discourages criminal activity. Christie said that he knows the nine men arrested in the San Fernando Valley, and that he’s sure they will be vindicated.

“I think they will conduct themselves like gentlemen,” Christie said.

Robert Sheahen, an attorney who has represented Hells Angels several times in recent years, agreed with Christie.

“The government’s vendetta against the Angels is based more on mystique than reality,” Sheahen said.

Christie, his two adult children and 21 others were arrested in February 2001 and accused of heading a criminal gang -- the Hells Angels chapter in Ventura County -- whose activities were said to include the sale of drugs to high school students.

Prosecutors said Christie, operating out of a tattoo parlor and the Angels clubhouse, oversaw a group that peddled drugs, evaded taxes and hid large amounts of money in secret bank accounts. He also was charged with fraud and grand theft.

After one of the longest and most expensive criminal proceedings in Ventura County history, Christie struck a deal, pleading no contest to tax evasion and guilty to conspiring to illegally sell the prescription drug, Vicodin. The other charges were dropped. He was placed on three years’ probation and sentenced to time already served.

In 1986, Christie was charged with conspiracy to commit murder but was found not guilty.

The targets for Wednesday’s raids included the Hells Angels headquarters in San Francisco and a regional headquarters in Sparks, Nev. Arrests were made in Tacoma, Kirkland, Silverdale, Spokane and Wenatchee, Wash., and in Anchorage and Two Rivers, Alaska.

Arrests in Arizona included the president of the Angels chapter in Tucson and the former president of the Mesa chapter.

The nine San Fernando Valley men arrested were: Thomas Edward Anderson, 60; Donald Bradley Davis, 49; Dana Traxel Edwards, 58; Thomas Nils Eriksson, 48; Charles Macon Green, 52; Joseph Edward Helferty, 59; Peter Francis Piccione, 48; Robert Jonathon Toth, 51, and Joseph George Vlad IV, 45, the ATF said.

All nine were being held in lieu of $100,000 bail. Charges against the nine included grand theft, kidnapping and possession of marijuana for sale.

Agents said Eriksson is president of the San Fernando Valley chapter of the Hells Angels, Edwards is the treasurer, Davis is the sergeant at arms and Anderson is the secretary.